The Italians director and star Michelle Danner invites you to an unforgettable dinner with the Vitali family
- Heart Of Hollywood Team
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
No matter where your family comes from, we can all attest that no matter how much they drive us crazy, at the end of the day we still love each other. Well, most of us can attest. Some of us at least? Fresh off her impactful period courtroom drama Miranda's Victim, filmmaker Michelle Danner brings us The Italians, the story of the Italian-American Vitali family consisting of fiery matriarch Angelina (Michelle Danner), her oafish husband Vincenzo (Rob Estes), and their charming son Nico (Matthew Daddario). When Nico brings over his girlfriend Lily (Abigail Breslin) to meet his parents, she's everything Angelina doesn't want in a wife for her son and the night's humorous events lead to shocking revelations the next day that threaten to tear both couples apart.
Soon everyone in the Vitalis’ orbit are drawn into the chaos from next door neighbors Min (Perrey Reeves) and Murray (Lan Blayne) to Angelina's brother Sal (David DeLuise), mother Lucia (Lanie Kazan) as well as Nico's ex-girlfriend Geena (Olivia Luccardi) and the local priest Father Joe (Luca Riemma). What unfolds is a hilarious story in which this idiosyncratic ensemble learn to accept each other for who they are. “The Italians is a heartfelt comedy about love, forgiveness and the belief that people can change,” says producer, director, and star Michelle Danner. “I firmly believe in the message of this film and I hope people will laugh and be moved by it. They may also want to eat excellent Italian food after they see it, but more importantly I would love for this film to inspire the audience to go home, hug their families, and spend lots of time with them.”
Danner and the film's writer Lisa Visca bonded over their shared backgrounds as members of Italian families and sought to channel those eccentricities and examine those relationships. “In my family, when you sat down for dinner, you knew at some point the spaghetti was bound to start flying,” says Danner. “You didn’t know when, but you always felt in your gut that it was inevitable. Despite that craziness, my family was so full of love for one another, and showing both sides of those dynamics is what drew me to Lisa’s script.” The decision to direct and star in the film came naturally to Michelle as she found a deep connection to the character. “Angelina is a composite of my sister, my mother, and my grandmother; basically my whole family all rolled into one. I felt like I really understood how to make this character come to life.”
“The Italians” is currently streaming on Amazon Video.
